No-Signal Area: A Novel [Paperback]

Oleg and Nikola—hustlers, entrepreneurs, ambassadors of capitalism—have come to the town of N to build an obsolete turbine, never mind why. Enlisting the help of former engineer Sobotka, they reopen the old turbine factory, preaching the gospel of “self-organization” and bringing new life to the depressed post-communist town. But as the project spins out of control, Oleg and Nikola find themselves increasingly entangled with the locals, for whom this return to past prosperity brings bitter reckonings and reunions. At once a savage sendup of our current political moment and a rueful elegy for what might have been, this sprawling novel blends tragedy and comedy in its portrayal of ordinary people wondering where it all went wrong, and whether it could have gone any other way. No-Signal Area is a mind-blowing read—a story of crime and heroism in the real-life aftermath of an all-white race war, told with wisdom, sophistication, and passion. —Nell Zink, author of Doxology

In No-Signal Area Perisic brilliantly captures the absurdity and chaos of a society in transition. A poetic punk ethos saturates the book—defiant, anarchic, exuberant, and ironic—perfect for a story about hustlers and workers and dreamers and mercenaries in post-war, post-truth Croatia. —Miriam Toews, author of Women Talking

“Robert Perišić is a light bright with intelligence and twinkling with irony, flashing us the news that postwar Croatia not only endures but matters.” —Jonathan Franzen, author of The Corrections and Freedom

In Perisic’s poignant telling, the elãÁ